In Guyana (Just).

Stop Press: We are currently (2006-10-01) parked
by the roadside about 40km north of Santa Elena in Venezuela, waiting for the
army to give us permission to drive to the border with Brazil. We are told that
there are demonstrations (riots?) in Santa Elena and it is not safe for us to
drive thru the town.

The next morning (2006-10-02) we decided to see how "closed" and
"riot torn" Santa Elena was. Apart from long queues at the fuel station (which
was a shame as we wanted to fill up with cheap Venezuelan fuel) we saw no
indications of a "riot" in Santa Elena. No burnt out buildings, no broken
windows, no extra police, just a little more litter than when we were there
before.

Leaving Venezuela was quick and painless. Entering Brazil was
straightforward but the vehicle paperwork was very very slow. We were each
given a DSI (Declaracao Simplificada de Importacao). This document is an
agreement that if we failed to export the vehicle from Brazil within the
specified time (5 days for us) we would pay a substantial penalty. At this
border we were also told that because there were no customs facilities on the
Brazil-Guyana border at Bonfim, we must "export" our vehicles at the customs
office in Bao Vista, 100kms away.

Predictably the customs office in Bao Vista claimed no knowledge
of such a procedure. They assured us that there were customs facilities at
Bonfim and that they would provide us with the necessary proof that we had
exported our vehicles. They were half right.

There is a customs office on the main road at
Bonfim (N03.367406 W59.842389), but they would not provide us
with an official export document. The best we could do was to get them to stamp
a copy of our DSI. We will find out if this is sufficient when we try to
re-enter Brazil in a few weeks!

Brazilian immigration, a
kilometer down the road, was simple and quick.

Here the good tarmac road stopped, and after a few kilometers of
poor dirt road, we reached a fairly rickety ferry to take us to Guyana. The
price was an outrageous $20 USA for a very short ride, but there was no
alternative. (The half built bridge was abandoned after the contractor
allegedly left with the money. It may be finished in five years.)

Once off the ferry, you drive on the left hand
side of the dirt track (there are no signs to remind you!) and everybody speaks
English (or at least something quite like English). After 200 metres, a small
boy rushed out to spray the vehicle's wheels but he did not ask for money. Very
odd!

Helpfully, there was a notice saying it was illegal not to report
to immigration on arrival in Guyana, but it did not say where the
immigration offices were!

After a couple of
kilometers, we reached the turning to the thriving metropolis of Lethem
(population 7600), a spread-out and laid back town with a Caribbean feel. We
were told that immigration formalities take place at the airport, if there is a
plane due, otherwise, at the police station.

With some trouble we found the police station (N03.372517
W59.804183), and our passports were stamped into Guyana. We asked for 28 days
and are given 21. The police then demanded a "manifest". This turned out to be
a document listing the passengers in each vehicle. We hand-wrote a "manifest"
for each vehicle, which was reluctantly accepted. Because it was getting late,
we asked permission to park overnight opposite the police station. Permission
was granted.

The following morning a policeman was assigned to escort us to
customs (N03.370245 W59.797640). When we arrived (08:15), customs was having a
shower. When customs had finished his shower, we were told that we must first
get insurance (which is compulsory). Unfortunately, the only person who could
issue insurance was away in Georgetown. After some discussion, it is agreed
that we could get our insurance when we get to Georgetown.

Customs then settled down to the two hour task of producing three
Certificate of Temporary Import of Motor Vehicles and three
Permission to Drive slips. We believe that only 16 foreign (that
is not Brazilian or Guyanan) vehicles have crossed this border so far in
2006!

Armed with these documents, and
after confirming that we would get insurance in Georgetown, we were free to
leave.

But first we changed money and bought Marmite(!) at the excellent
Savannah Inn and General Store (N03.372942 W59.795413).

Eventually we headed north on the "all weather" Lethem-Georgetown
dirt road.

Stephen
Stewart.

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